1932-1991-1994-1995-1996-2001-2014 South Carolina High School Football State Titles. All articles are written by D. Rash(unless oherwise noted) Published by LAWSON'S FORK PRESS in association with WORDPRESS.COM (C)2015 LFP EMAIL:DRASH2113@YAHOO.COM

KNOWLEDGE IS KING: JAYLON GIRDNER

“Growing up I was always taught that football is something I do, it isn’t just who I am. It’s also a lot more than just a game, its taught me different things about life.”

If you read over that above statement a few times you can find a certain wisdom that makes Spartanburg Sophomore Safety JAYLON GIRDNER a little bit wiser than some old folklore that claims football is a path to success in any endeavor.Football teaches team work ,discipline, sacrifice,ability to lead,ability to follow and the benefit of practice.Those are all life skills.Life skills that every kid in every school in every town needs.

IN 1989 Kool Moe Dee spoke the truth…KNOWLEDGE IS KING

In 2016 Kool Moe Dee’s words still hold true..

Defensive Backs Coach Jeff Woodall says,”As a young first time varsity player,there is a huge learning curve that he has to work on overcoming,but Jaylon has a tremendous upside.An honors student in the classroom has helped him show the level of maturity in learning the Free Safety position.”

Knowledge Is King…

The 6’1, 174 pound Safety has been showing nothing but skills this season. Girdner has 31 tackles,6 pass break ups and a forced fumble. Doing his part on a Vikings Defense that is holding opponents to 13.5 points per game. Jaylon is stepping into a role that was vacated by 3 year starter and current WESTERN CAROLINA signee Mike Murphy.

Jaylon was born and raised here in Spartanburg by his mother, Kristen Jackson. He started playing football he was 7 years old and mostly played quarterback.His Father,Keon played Tailback for Gaffney from 1998-2000 and may be most remembered for his 1999 performance against Byrnes… 130 yards and four touchdowns on 19 carries..Final: Gaffney 42-9.

“I sat out last year as a freshman after I tore my labrum in the Northwestern Scrimmage. It was hard to watch from sidelines,but I learned a lot”,Girdner said.”All of my life I played offense until this year I went to safety. Coach Miller, Coach Wiles, Coach Woodall, and Coach Turner all taught me and drive me to be a better safety.I really feel as though my tackling has improved. Knowing how much they expect out of me gives me confidence when I go out onto the field.”

On the upcoming Northwestern Game Girdner said,”We watched some film on Northwestern, they’re a good football team with great skill players. We’re going to come in this week and practice hard. They’ll be tough to defend but if we do what we need to do, we can win the game.”

Coach Woodall added, “We didn’t know exactly what to expect from Jaylon this year or where he would best fit into the team. He was out all during his C Team year and was on limited contact during the spring. He spent most of the summer working with the second group during 7 on 7’s. During Fall practice, I asked Coach Wiles and Coach Turner (CB coach) ‘Who are the best 5 we can put together in the Secondary?’ and they both said that we needed to give him a chance to show what he could do. He has shown that he deserves the opportunity.”

“After high school I plan on going to college,but first I’m looking forward to having a big season with my teammates and proving everyone wrong”